


Say Cheese!

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: My Heart is Too Big to Love Just One of You [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amusement Parks, Coney Island, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, New York City, Rain, demisexual!John Laurens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 19:58:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6673555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Because only Lafayette would think it's a good idea  to go and visit Coney Island in November... Still, despite all that maybe something good can come of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Say Cheese!

If there was one thing that they had learned about Lafayette over the short time they had known him, it was that when he got an idea in his mind it was impossible to dissuade him. This was why John, Alex, and Hercules found themselves riding the subway in the direction of Coney Island on a rather chilly November day.

  
"You know this might be more fun if the weather wasn't so cold," John suggested although his words were falling on deaf ears.

  
"I've always wanted to go," Lafayette was practically bouncing where he sat.

  
"It's not like what they depict in all those movies," Herc cautioned.

  
"Ehh," Lafayette shrugged, "who cares?"

  
"It's too cold for this," Alex grumped. He had a jacket on over his sweatshirt and a hat shoved on his head, a thick scarf wrapped around his neck and chin.

  
"It's not that cold," John laughed, "I'm telling you."

  
"Tell me all you want," said Alex, "I'm not used to this."

  
"I'll keep you warm," John replied, leaning closer.

  
Alex felt himself flushing slightly. Did John even realize how he affected him?

  
Once they got to their stop Lafayette was the first off the subway with the others slowly following.

  
"This man is crazy," Hercules muttered.

  
"I have to live with him," John laughed.

  
"I'm sorry."

  
"Are you coming, or not?" Lafayette turned to look back at them.

  
"Hold your horses," Herc called out.

  
He jogged slightly to catch up with the Frenchman, John following further behind and nudging Alex with his shoulder every so often to make sure he was still following. They got to the gate and probably due to the miserable weather there was hardly anything that resembled a line. So they breezed through and purchased their passes for the day.

  
"Come on!" Lafayette called excitedly, grabbing Hercules's hand and pulling him along.

  
Herc laughed and allowed himself to be dragged. Alex looked around, his eyes wide where they could be seen between his hat and scarf. John reached out and unwound the scarf from Alex's face.

  
"John," complained Alex, shivering.

  
John gently draped the scarf across the back of Alex's neck.

  
"I want to see your beautiful smile," explained John with a soft smile of his own.

  
Thank god it was cold enough that he could pass his blushing off as just being cold because it was almost embarrassing just how flush his cheeks were because of that comment. It caused a large grin to crack out across his face despite the cold that sent chills down his spine. The weather never got like this in St. Croix.

  
"There it is," said John, knocking Alex's shoulder lightly with his own, "Wanna go ride some rides?"

  
Alex nodded, falling into step with John. He'd never been to an amusement park before and even if this one looked like it had seen better days he was excited to experience it even with the cold.

  
"What do you want to do first?" John asked.

  
Alex shrugged, "I don't know... What's your favorite kind of ride?"

  
"Don't laugh," John said, "but I've always loved the carousel."

  
"I've actually never been on a carousel," Alex admitted.

  
John's eyes went wide, "We have to fix that, right now."

  
He took Alex's hand to lead him in the direction of the tinkling music. Even through the glove he was wearing, Alex could feel the warmth of John's hand.  
They approached the carousel and Alex couldn't help but let his jaw drop slightly at the sight. He'd never seen anything like it.

"How do you even choose what horse you want?" Alex asked, "There are so many amazing ones!"

  
"You'll know it when you see it," John replied glancing over his shoulder.

  
John began circling the perimeter of the ride, eyeing each plaster horse as they passed.

  
"Here we are!" John proclaimed as he selected a handsome looking palomino bedecked in jewels reminiscent to a better time of when it had been maintained with the utmost care. Alex looked around at the other horses in the vicinity. Eventually he hopped up on the horse beside John's, he shifted trying to get comfortable. This proved to be impossible.

  
Soon the ride lurched forward and groaned slightly as it began to move, Alex gripped tightly to the pole on his horse as it began to rise up and down. "Holy shit."

  
John laughed, "Alex, are you okay?"

  
"This," Alex said breathlessly, "is awesome."

  
He couldn't help but zero in on the curve of John's throat as he threw his head back and let out a joyous yelp. Around they went with the music cheerfully playing in the background, and Alex had to admit he was sad when it ended. Slowly he dismounted the horse and went over to John.

  
"We've got to do that again," Alex was beaming.

  
John slid off his own horse and threw an arm around Alex's shoulders.

  
"I think that can be arranged."

  
There were so few people at the park that the ride attendant allowed them to ride twice more in a row before making them leave.

  
"This is the best day ever," Alex enthused as they stumbled away, both slightly dizzy from so much spinning.

  
"Laf will be pleased," chuckled John, "Oh look! Bumper cars!"

  
They squeezed into one car, practically in each other's laps with their cheeks almost pressed together. Herc made his presence known by slamming his own car into the side of theirs and cackling madly.

  
"It is so on!" Alex said, wrenching the wheel from John's grip so that they could give chase.

  
The other people gave their two cars a wide berth as battle cries from all three of them filled the area. They continued to slide a crash into each other while most if the other riders just watched. Then it was over and the cars finally came to a halt.

  
"I win!" Hercules proclaimed as he stood up in the car.

  
John stuck his tongue out while Alex made a 'blah blah blah' motion with his hand. Hercules rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.

  
"So mature."

  
"We're at an amusement park," John countered, "This is the last place to be mature."

  
Hercules laughed. They exited the bumper cars and Herc looked around, "Uh oh, it looks like we lost Laf..."

  
"There," Alex said, pointing towards the unmistakable sight of Lafayette's curly bun by the face painting booth.

  
"Oh man," Hercules laughed, "I'd better go see what's going on."

  
He waved and began to make his way over to their friend.

  
"D'you want to get some funnel cake?" asked John.

  
"What's a funnel cake?"

  
John's only response was a grin as he lead the way towards the nearby food stands.

  
"Being from the south I am ever the stereotype and well versed in all things fried," John explained, "this is the best, most delicious, artery clogging thing you will ever put in your mouth."

  
"You make it sound so appealing," Alex deadpanned.

  
"Trust me," John shot back, turning to the person behind the counter to order.

  
"Always," Alex murmured.

  
Funnel cake, Alex soon learned, was fried dough swimming in a pool of whipped cream and powdered sugar. As soon as he took his first bite, he was in heaven. Alex let out a moan, his eyes closing. John laughed.

  
"Can I marry funnel cake?" Alex sighed between bites.

  
"Certainly sounds like you should, considering the noises you're making."

  
Alex flushed slightly, shoving the last forkful into his mouth.

  
"Oh, here," John said when Alex had swallowed, "You've got a little something..."

  
He reach out and brushed his thumb across the corner of Alex's mouth. Alex felt his heart in his throat when John drew away and stuck the thumb in his own mouth.

  
"Powdered sugar," explained John.

  
It took a few moments for Alex to start to breathing again.

  
"Look who I found," Herc dragged Lafayette over to them, then entire right side of his face was covered in array of glittering stars. Lafayette was beaming, utterly pleased with himself.

  
"Hello _ma chéris_ ," Laf waved.

  
"You look fabulous as always," John chuckled.

  
"Thank you," Laf nodded his head.

  
"So now what?" Alex asked.

  
"Pictures," Lafayette insisted, indicating a near by photo booth.

  
The four of them squeezed into one of the booths to produce a set before Lafayette demanded to get sets with each of them separately. While Laf and Herc were in the booth, John nodded towards a second booth.

  
"Want to?"

  
"Sure," agreed Alex.

  
John led the way and slid into the booth first. Alex once again found himself tightly pressed up against John's side and his heart thumped. John put the money in and leaned back in the seat.

  
"Do you want to pose?" he asked.

  
"What would we even do?" queried Alex in return.

  
"Duck face?" John suggested, half in jest.

  
"I will if you will."

  
They barely managed to both turn to the camera with exaggerated pouts before the flash went off. When the image appeared on the screen, it sent both of them into peals of laughter. The second flash came when they were still trying to get over their mirth. The laughter faded away and Alex found himself caught in John's gaze, mesmerized.

  
"What is it?" John asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

  
The flash went off for a third time just as Alex surged forward and pressed his lips against John's, eyes screwed shut.

  
There was a moment of stillness before John responded, leaning into Alex. The kiss remained chaste, just lips against lips, but John shifted so that Alex's bottom lip was caught between his. They didn't notice the fourth and final camera flash. What finally caught their attention was the whirring of the boot as it printed to strips of the four photographs outside.

  
Then Laf's voice could be heard from just outside the booth, "Quand il me prend dans ses bras, Il me parle tout bas, Je vois la vie en rose-" he sang.

  
Both John and Alex emerged from the booth to see Lafayette grinning as he looked at their pictures.

  
"Ooh la la," teased Hercules.

  
Alex felt himself blush.

  
"You two certainly know how to have fun," Herc looked at the other copy.

  
"I think they are..." Lafayette paused to think of the word, "how you say... Ah yes, very cute."

  
Alex was so busy blushing that he startled slightly when John took his hand. He looked up at John, who was giving him a blinding smile.

  
"Um, are we a thing now?" Alex asked softly.

  
John's smile faded and he started to draw away.

  
"A-aren't we?" he stammered, "I just thought...with the kissing and everything. Did I misread the signals?"

  
"No!" Alex tightened his grip on John's hand, "I mean, I want us to be a thing. Or whatever."

  
John's smile returned full force.

  
" _Très adorable_ ," Lafayette sighed.

  
"Oh stop," Alex muttered as he felt his blush reach the tips of his ears.

  
"I'm only stating what I see," Lafayette smirked, "now come, there is so much to do."

  
Alex was happy to comply with Lafayette's wishes as long as he was able to hold John's hand at every opportunity. They all followed Laf to a ride dubbed the Circus Coaster, none of them realising that the cloud cover overhead was getting even darker. It started halfway through their ride on the Circus Coaster. There were only a few droplets at first, but by the time the coaster came to a complete stop it was raining steadily.

  
"Come on," Hercules called, flipping up the lapels of his jacket in a failed attempt to protect himself from the rain, "The arcade has cover."

  
The other three followed after Hercules and the few other people that were at the park seemed to be heading in the same direction. As they made their way towards the arcade the rain was pouring down and the wind had picked up. By the time they reached cover their clothing was completely soaked through. Alex was shaking and this time not just from the cold, the load crack of thunder made him jump as he squeezed John's hand.

  
"Alex," John murmured, unnoticed by Hercules and Lafayette who were giggling in the corner as they squeezed water out of their clothes, "What's wrong?"

  
"N-nothing," Alex squeaked out as he watched get darker overhead.

  
"Hey," John said, gently turning Alex's face in his direction, "You can tell me."

  
"There was a hurricane," Alex spoke in a low voice, "couple years ago... St. Croix."

  
"Take your time," John urged.

  
"I lost a lot," Alex said simply, obviously unwilling to go into further depth, "and gained astraphobia."

  
John chuckled lightly, pulled Alex close, "Trust you to know the official phobia name."

  
"I can't help it," said Alex, pressing his cheek against John's chest.

  
"It's going to be okay," John embraced him gently, "It'll be over soon enough." Alex found himself watching the little droplets of water that dropped off of John's curls.

  
"You're a great distraction," Alex murmured, his gaze tracing the path of a water drop down John's face. John chuckled and the sound vibrated through Alex's body.  
Alex breathed in deeply, his fear and anxiety beginning to fade away as the storm slowly began to break up. As always after an anxiety attack, even one as mild as he'd just experienced, Alex felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him and he sagged slightly in John's arms.

  
He vaguely heard the other three talking in hushed voices.

"Come on," John said, pulling Alex away from himself so that he could wrap the scarf around the shorter boy's neck again, "Time to go home."

**Author's Note:**

> Yes... Lafayette is singing "La Vie en Rose"
> 
> Also, Alex's reaction to funnel cake is exactly the same as the one that tomatopudding had when she first tried funnel cake about a year ago.


End file.
